Improved artificial fuel



STATES IMPROVED ARTIFICIAL FUEL.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 40,753, dated December1, 1863.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOAB H. HUBBARD, of the city and county of Hartford,and State of Connecticut, have invented or discovered a new and usefulMode of Combining or Solidifying Anthracite Coal or Coal-Dust,(generally considered useless or of little value.) so as to restore itin a great degree to its original value for fuel; and ldo hereby declarethat the mode or process of producing said result is described inthefollowing specification and shown by the accompanying samples.

To enable others skilled in the art to compound the same, I will proceedto describe the components, mode of producing the compound, and theadvantage to be derived from the same.

Many efforts and experiments have been made to render fine anthracitecoal or coal-dust profitable for fuel, and up to the present time sucheffort has proved nearly or quite unsuccessful. In those experimentsalready made it seems to be the prevalent idea that some kindofcombustible material is essentially necessary to be combined with thecoal-dust and congealing material in order to render it free to burn,whereas I have found by successful experiments that the only qualityrequired is a congealin g material that willsuffiaientl y hold theparticles together for transportation and while it is being consumed bythe flame or fire, and a material also that will yield itself as theparticles of coal are consumed to allow a free circulation of airbetween the kernels or lumps of coal, as in the burning of the com- ,monlump-coal.

In preparing my composition for fuel I use, say, to fifteen tons of fineanthracite coal or coal-dustone ton of plaster-paris,(commonly so called5) or, instead thereof, I sometimes use one ton of clay (such as is usedin making brick or pottery or, instead of eitherof those, I sometimesuse one ton (half and half of each) of plaster and clay, and when theparts, as described, are mixed together add a sufficient amount of waterto properly congeal the particles together in mass and compressed intoproper molds or into bulk and dried, when it will be ready for use.

The proportions of clay or plaster may be varied more or less and havethe same efiect, or nearly so, as that above described. For that reasonI do not wish to be confined to the exact proportions described. Also,it may be found to work very advantageously to use about half and halfof each of the plaster and clay, and for that reason I do not wish to beconfined to either of those ingredients separateiy.

It will at once be perceived that by this very simple compound I am ableto produce a valuable saving in fuel, which otherwise would be thrown towaste.

What I claim therefore, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

Congealing into a mass for a fuel as follows: to fifteen tons ofanthracite coal or coal-dust one ton of plasteraris or one ton of clay,or half and half of each, to render it (the coaldust) useful for fuel,substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.

JOAB H. HUBBARD.

Witnesses:

A. B. GILLE'rr, JEREMY W. Bmss.

